Leisure

Below is a conversation I overheard in the pages of Ray Bradbury’s book called, Fahrenheit 451. I’m half quoting snippets, so as to whet your appetite to read the book. (For this same reason, I often share partial quotes from the Scriptures.) Enough explaining, here you go!

Faber: Well– suppose you tell me why you came here?

Montag: I don’t know. We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy.

Faber goes on to tell him there are three things people need. He reiterates the first, and then reveals the second, as their conversation continues:

Faber: Well, there we have the first thing I said we need. Quality, texture of information.

Montag: And the second?

Faber: Leisure.

When I think of leisure, my step-father wearing a powder blue, polyester blend leisure suit strolls across my mind. He wore it the day he married my mom. Of course, that’s how I remember it, and he might have been wearing a white cowboy hat, however my mom or my sisters might recall the details differently. And it is common that people from the same family can and do have variations on a memory.

I have the leisure to entertain such memories, and even wonder why that particular one crossed my mind today. But since I have the time, I’m going to put that memory aside for now, and tell you that this particular trip has been marked by leisure.

I have been surprised by the ease that we changed our expectations for this trip, and literally our direction. It’s very quiet and peaceful here on Kentucky Lake, but there’s a spirit of relaxation that pervades our very being. We are meandering south towards Pickwick Lake, where we will decide whether or not it’s feasible to still spend a month near a beach in Florida.

Usually by now I have some great story to tell about how we overcame this or that obstacle. I can’t describe how I’m feeling or what this trip is like without using the word leisure. We are at leisure to cruise across the lake and stay anchored out in a bay, to swim in the unseasonably warm water with our dog, and get up the next morning to go further south.

After a couple hours of choppy passage, and feeling a bit worn down by the waves crashing into our vessel, we turned off into a marina around 10 o’clock in the morning. And to my delight, my husband suggested that we just stay here for the day. Why fight the wind? (Normally, we have a tight agenda and ports to get to by nightfall.) But not this time. We have leisure.

I love to cook efficiently and creatively on the boat. I stock our pantry with items that I can throw together, like mac and cheese and tuna. And we grill enough chicken for two or three meals. I take pictures of the food, because I can. I enjoy the colors and textures of each meal, as well as the aromas and appetizing flavors. And afterwards I don’t even mind doing the dishes.

Living in this small space has it’s challenges, like the four totes stacked in a space behind my seat, which I’ve fondly been calling the four levels of hell, because I have to move them every time I need a jacket or a can of green beans or the hose that’s stored in the storage area built into the floor. The physicality of moving stuff around and finding what we need adds to the enjoyment of these leisurely days.

We often think leisure means doing nothing, but to me leisure means having a choice about what I do. Living here on the boat affords me time to explore my creativity, and try different creative outlets, like cooking, painting a watercolor scene or making palette charts in my art journal. And of course, photo documenting as I go.

Whenever we go on a trip like this, I think why don’t I bring some of this efficiency and leisure home? And then when I reflect over the past few years, the leisure of boating has seeped into my daily life, and for this I am ever thankful.

I don’t want a life of leisure to only happen, when I am away. I want leisure and adventure to accompany me in the midst of all the comings and goings of each day.

How are you going to incorporate leisure and adventure into your daily life?

Published by kelrohlf

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10 thoughts on “Leisure”

Kel, what you’re experiencing and saying about leisure here is fascinating to me, because just this past week I was giving myself permission to approach my daily life with the same kind of leisure, and the result has been a sometimes nearly euphoric enjoyment of things I would otherwise have squeezed in on the run, and thought of mostly as obligations to get done and checked off quickly, so I could hurry on to the next thing, under pressure, trying to satisfy “the list,”… I think you know what I mean. Where we get our present-day drivenness I don’t know (tho maybe I just speak for myself), but I am feeling in my bones that the pressure way is not God’s way, and the delightful leisure approach might just end up “accomplishing” a whole lot more worthwhile stuff. Amazing.

Sylvia-I can totally relate to the various paces that we use to approach both the mundane and the set apart times like our boat adventure. even adventures have tasks and work and lists that can weigh down but I had to remind myself that I always have leisure but I don’t always honor it.

The doggie is priceless. Reminds me of the one on Little Rascals! For some reason, you’ve got me looking up etymologies. Leisure is from the French leisir, meaning to be permitted, and from the Latin, licere, to be allowed. I love you are leisuring yourself to enjoy the textures, colors, activities, and itinerary changes to come as they may for such a time as this. Leisure on, dear Kel. Leisure on!
Love
Lynni

Lynni- Our doggie is a little rascal and a joy all in one. I love that you looked up the etymology of leisure…these roots offer the word even more texture for me. Thanks and may leisure be your companion this season of life.

Kel: I love hearing about your travels by boat. For us, every day is spent doing something active. Since last Wednesday, we have been on a fast track.However, I have found time to “porch sit” at least a couple of hours. I get to watch people as they drive up and down our street. I also get to watch the trees change into their autumn dress. I await your next blog posts as you go on this trip.